


The Springtide

by Bruinhilda



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 16:22:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13275288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bruinhilda/pseuds/Bruinhilda
Summary: When Vila and Cally go missing on an alien planet, the crew find they have a very large...or rather, two small problems on their hands.





	The Springtide

 

 

_"Once upon a time, there was a very happy family. The children played in the springtide of the valley while their parents did those things that parents do to keep families safe and happy._

_"But then a dark and terrible thing came from the sky. The parents did not know what it was, and they could not stop it before it hit the valley. In a terrible instant, the springtide was disrupted and the children were gone._

_"The parents mourned for many many days. And one by one by one, they drifted away until only one was left. This one could not leave. Someone had to remember the children. Someone had to tease the fabric of the springtide back together. Someone had to hope that the children could still somehow be saved. I had to do these things, so I have always stayed._

_"And then you came, my darlings. You came to see the dark thing that had destroyed so much. You were dark, and damaged and unhappy, and I wept anew. I could see sparks of my own children in you. You, who had never known the joys and the lights of the springtide._

_"And it was then I realized what I had to do. I came to you, and wrapped you in the tide, and washed away your pains and hurts. You were afraid at first, but you followed me home. And together, we made a new family. I, your parent. You, my children. From so much pain, we built new joy, and I knew what I had done was right. And we will be happy forever and ever now that you are here..."_

 

 

 

 

Gan was starting to get worried. It had been 45 minutes since Vila and Cally had called in. Blake and Avon had teleported back up ages ago. Nothing of interest, Avon had said. Just a lot of wilderness and a long-decayed Federation cruiser. He was off somewhere with the bits he'd ripped out of it. Cally and Vila had stayed behind so Vila could break into the cargo hold, "just in case." They'd called in every half-hour, and the last time had promised to call for pickup if they couldn't get the hatch open.

Vila could forget about the world if he had a lock intriguing enough, but Cally was responsible enough. Gan tapped his fingers on the console. He pressed the comm channel again.

"Vila, Cally, come in please." Still static. Maybe they'd finally gotten into the hold, and were blocked from transmitting? He sighed. "I hate this."

"The enforced rest?" Blake asked as he jogged down the steps.

"That too." Gan tapped his leg. "It's all right now, you know."

"I know, I know." Blake held up his hands. "But it was a bad break, and you really shouldn't risk overstraining it just yet. How are Cally and Vila coming along?"

"I was about to call you about that. They're late with their last check in, and I can't get a signal now."

Blake grimaced and punched at the comm button. "Vila! Cally! Respond!" Gan was coming to hate that static sound. "How long has it been since their last check?"

"Fifty minutes now. I think we should go down."

"Agreed. But you're still staying here," Blake added as Gan started to get up. "I promise, I'll call you in if you're needed." He reached for the intercom. "Avon..."

"I'm busy," came the instant reply. Gan almost laughed.

"We have trouble. Get down to the teleport. Bring the guns with you." Blake switched it off before Avon could argue again.

It was Jenna who arrived with the guns, just ahead of a scowling Avon. "I fail to see why you need me to round up a pair of strays."

"There might be trouble down there. If there is, I'll need your help."

"There are no hostile life forms down there bigger than a rat."

"That we know of," Jenna pointed out.

"If you're so worried, why don't you go?"

"I am going." Blake raised an eyebrow, but wisely chose to not object.

"They could just be busy in the cargo hold," Avon pointed out.

"In which case, they'll need us to help carry things up." Blake tossed him a bracelet. "If everything is fine, we'll have wasted all of five minutes of your time."

Avon smiled crookedly. "I suppose I can spare _that_." He walked over.

"Put us down, Gan."

 

 

The sun was well up when they arrived. And a quick check revealed that the wreck was deserted. Vila's toolkit was open and various probes were scattered in front of the still-locked cargo hatch. Otherwise there was no sign of either him or Cally. Nobody responded to their yells.

"Doesn't look like there was a struggle," Jenna pointed out. "No blast marks I can see."

"It doesn't make sense. They wouldn't just walk away." Blake looked up as Avon approached.

"Actually, it looks like they may have." Avon gestured. "I've found their footprints." They followed him back out of the ship. Blake slipped a little on the crushed rock crystal that filled the crater.

Jenna caught him with a small smile. “Bit slippery, isn't it?”

Blake smiled back. “A bit.” He kicked some of the fragments out of the way. “Whatever the ship hit must have been impressive when it was still intact.”

Larger chunks filled the outer rim of the depression, until the land suddenly gave way to a hill awash in tall blue-green grass that tangled their feet. Avon was already at the top, and regarding them with a supercilious smile.

The other side of the hill that sloped down to the treeline was damp and muddy. Two sets of footprints were clearly visible.

"It doesn't look like anyone else walked through here."

Blake was furious. "But why? And why wouldn't they call in if they were going to leave?"

"It's pointless to speculate, Blake. We have no information. If we find them, you can yell at them for a few hours about irresponsibility."

Blake blew out an annoyed breath, and then reported in to Gan. "Keep a lock on us. We'll call in regularly."

"Will do."

"All right. Let's go find them."

 

A clear path had been broken through the brush. It meandered a great deal, but the way was easy enough. The red-barked trees got taller the farther in they went. Small bright insects buzzed past. The ground was soft, and footprints appeared whenever the leaf cover was thin. They were the prints of two people out for a stroll, not of someone in a hurry. Blake was warring between annoyance and worry right up until they found one of Vila's shoes.

Avon picked it up thoughtfully. "This is hardly something he's likely to lose in a simple stroll." He looked from Blake to Jenna. Without a word, all three of them pulled their guns.

Vila's other shoe was a short distance away. Cally's boots were lying next to it. They could see various other items of clothing ahead of that. The footprints were now much lighter, and of bare feet.

Avon's voice was wry. "Their little walk might be rather more...extra curricular than we thought."

"They've picked a damned awkward place for it, if that's so," Jenna put in. "Some of these plants look poisonous." She gestured at a particularly nasty looking one, that was oozing purple sap over a dead insect.

Avon grinned. "Then they'll have a far worse punishment than anything Blake could think up."

Blake ran a hand over his face in exasperation. "Cally! Vila! Get over here now!"

Avon's grin got even wider. "You can hardly expect them to come running up naked, now can you?"

Blake holstered his gun. "I'll drag them back by their necks if I have to." He stomped after the trail of clothing. Jenna arched an eyebrow at Avon.

"This is turning out to be far more entertaining than I ever expected. Shall we follow our fearless leader? Or shall we leave them with some small dignity?"

Jenna rolled her eyes, and stalked after Blake. Avon sauntered after her, picking up bits of clothing as he went.

 

 

Blake could hear a stream up ahead. And laughter! Grimly, he pushed through the brush. Of all the insane, irresponsible...

He broke though and stopped. There was a wide pool out of the main current of the stream. Large rocky cliffs surrounded a tiny little oasis. Beyond them, the trees gave way to a magnificent view of the mountains 20 miles away. The perfect spot for a romantic picnic, in fact. But the two figures playing in the water were much too small to be Vila and Cally. Blake slowly walked towards them.

A sandy haired boy was scooping water up and flinging it at a dark-haired girl, who was screaming with laughter. She kicked her feet, sending waves of water back. They were dressed in loose-fitting garments that ended at about the knees.

Jenna stepped up behind him, and drew a surprised breath in. She'd seen the same thing he had. The girl was wearing Cally's tunic, the boy Vila's. They might have just found them lying around and decided to put them on, but...

"What the hell's happened here?" Avon said from behind. Both Jenna and Blake jumped. The kids stopped playing and looked up at the adults.

Jenna slowly walked forward. "Cally? Vila?" She reached out a hand to the girl. "What's happened to you?"

The girl cocked her head at Jenna. She couldn't have been more than five years old. Jenna knelt on the bank nearby. "Cally..."

With a grin, the girl suddenly dropped and splashed a gout of water directly over Jenna. She was soaked instantly. "Why, you little..." Jenna lunged forward. Cally shrieked and dodged, and Jenna faceplanted into the pool.

Vila shrieked with laughter and started splashing water at both Cally and Jenna. Cally joined in, while Jenna sputtered and tried to wring out her blouse. Blake hurried forward to help.

Avon got there first, and with a lunge, caught hold of Cally, and carried the protesting girl out of the pool.

"Hey!" Vila yelled. "Leave her alone!" He started splashing towards Avon.

Cally wriggled. "Emme go! Emme go!" she wailed.

Blake helped a dripping Jenna back onto the bank. He looked at Avon helplessly.

"To answer the question you were about to ask, no, I have no idea what...OUCH!" Vila had reached them, and was biting Avon's shin. Avon kicked out, rolling Vila away, but dropped Cally in the process. She kicked him in the other shin for good measure. With a curse, Avon went down and into the pool.

Both kids started laughing wildly. With them distracted, Blake grabbed Vila, and Jenna got a hold of Cally. Both of them howled in protest.

Avon stalked out of the pool, glaring at all of them. He reached the bundle of clothing he'd dropped on the bank, and pulled out the teleport bracelets.

"I suggest we get them back to the ship before things get any more out of hand."

 

None of them noticed the sparkles glinting off the waterfall coalescing into a cloud, and racing towards them. It passed harmlessly through the collapsing white outline where they had been.

A scream echoed, sending every small animal running or flying away in fright.

 

Gan blinked as the crew rematerialized. The process of teleporting had momentarily silenced Cally and Vila, and they were looking around in goggle-eyed wonder. Avon dumped the bundle of clothes and gunbelts on the console, silently daring Gan to comment on his waterlogged appearance.

Gan barely gave Avon a glance. He was staring at Vila, who stared back. And then broke into a grin that was identical to the adult Vila's.

Cally shrugged off Jenna's grip on her shoulders and ran forward. "An!"

"Gan," Vila corrected. Cally was trying to climb over the console. Wordlessly, Gan slid out and picked her up. She laughed, and Gan suddenly had the image of a soft, friendly giant in his head. She snuggled against his chest.

Blake let Vila go, and the boy ran over to Gan, grabbing hold of his free hand. "Up! Up Gan!" Gan pulled his arm up, and Vila came with it, laughing and swinging. Cally giggled.

"What the h...what on earth happened?" Gan asked.

"I have absolutely no idea," Blake answered. Will you bring them up to the flight deck? I'd like to have Zen take a look at them. Jenna...?"

"I'm going to get changed," Jenna sighed. She followed after Avon.

Gan rallied. Whatever was going on, it would be sorted out. "Come on you two, let's go for a walk!"

 

There was a slight problem in getting Vila scanned. He not only didn't want to sit on the scanner, he was incapable of sitting still at all. Blake futilely chased him around the flight deck a few times before giving up and letting him expend his energy jumping on the front couches. Cally didn't want to let go of Gan, but obediently sat still on the scanner as long as Gan stood next to her.

"Tickles!" she giggled, as the scanner went over her. This got Vila's attention, and he scrambled up next to her.

+INFORMATION: GENETIC SCAN MATCHES,+ Zen proclaimed. +SUBJECTS ARE VILA RESTAL AND CALLY OF AURON.+

"I was afraid of that," Jenna commented, as Cally and Vila started trying to push each other off the scanner. "It was too much to hope that this was just some odd practical joke.”

"But how is this possible?" Blake demanded. "Zen, any ideas?"

+NO INFORMATION.+

Cally pointed at the glittering lights. "Zen!"

Gan patted her head. "Yes, Cally, that's Zen."

Vila leaned over her. "Zen! Do a barrel roll!"

"No!" Jenna yelled. "Zen, ignore that order!" Blake yelled at the same time.

+CONFIRMED.+ Zen answered. The adults held their breath until they realized Zen wasn't obeying Vila's command.

Avon's dry tones cut in from behind. "I stopped here before getting changed." He walked down the stairs and glowered at the pouting children. "To prevent some childish prank from killing all of us, Zen will not obey any orders from either of them until we get this sorted out."

Blake breathed out. "Thank you, Avon."

"That was thinking ahead," Jenna said.

"Someone had to. The question is, what do we do now?"

"Find a way to undo it. Zen, I want a full scan of the planet again. Look for anything out of the ordinary. And check for any information about any substance or treatment that can cause a reversal of the aging process."

+CONFIRMED.+

"Avon, you and I are going back down to the planet. Something has to have caused this. If we can find it, maybe we can cure it."

"Provided it doesn't happen to us as well."

"Blake, if any pursuit ships come up on us now..." Jenna started.

"If they do, bring us up and run," Blake ordered. "We can always come back here." He glanced over at Gan, who currently had Vila climbing up his shoulders. "Gan, keep them out of trouble. Especially," he added, "Keep them out of the engine room and other dangerous places."

"Right." Gan swung Cally down to the deck. "A change of clothes first, I think. We should be able to find something suitable."

 

Gan was partly right. There were plenty of suitably-sized clothes towards the back of the store room. However, convincing two hyperactive children to wear them properly was proving difficult. Cally kept insisting on trying on the adult-sized clothes. Vila was climbing the shelves and tossing random things down. One of these was a frilly, bright red dress of about the right size, and Gan tried to coax her into putting it on.

"You have to wear something, Cally. Isn't it pretty?"

"No!"

Gan sighed. A shoe hit him from above. "Vila! Get down from there! You need to pick an outfit!"

"I am!" Another shoe hit Gan, and he moved himself and Cally out of range.

"Vila, come down and pick something from the pile!"

"Why?"

"Because you have to wear something!"

"Am!"

Gan often felt like he was the least-intelligent person in any group he was in. He'd thought he was used to it. But being out-argued by a child - and a child Vila at that - was a new low. And he was rapidly losing his temper.

"Get down and put something else on, Vila. NOW!"

It was a really good bellow, he reflected. The walls practically vibrated with it, and Vila scrambled down so fast that for a heart-stopping moment, Gan thought he'd fallen. But he was laughing, and dived into the pile of clothes Cally had rejected.

Cally was losing her temper too, it seemed. She didn't want to look at anything Gan offered. She finally plopped herself down on the floor and refused to budge.

Vila piped up from behind him. "Okay, I found something."

"Good." Gan turned around. Vila was wearing the red dress. Well, at least it fit better than the outsized dirty tunic. "You sure you want to wear that?"

"Yes!"

"Okay. Want some pants to go with it?"

"Why?"

'Because if Avon sees you, you might never live it down' was probably past Vila's reasoning capabilities right now. He was clothed, that was the important thing. Gan turned back to Cally. "See how nice Vila looks, Cally? Why don't you try something on?"

"Don't wanna!" And with that, Cally pulled off her tunic, and ran. Gan grabbed it and followed her. "Cally!"

At least he'd had the foresight to lock the door. She couldn't get out and run down the corridors naked. But finding her in here was going to be a chore.

And then Vila ran by naked, flying the red dress behind him like a cape.

Gan was starting to think he'd prefer to be facing off against a squad of troopers in his underwear rather than deal with this.

 

Blake had walked around the ship a few times. More as an attempt to clear his head than with any real hope of spotting something. The only footprints to be found belonged to himself and his crew. Nothing had moved since his first visit to the wreck. The only noise he heard was the rustle of leaves and the buzzing of insects.

He ran a hand over his face. None of this made the slightest bit of sense. With a sigh, he hauled himself back into the ship through the rip in the side.

Avon had collected Vila's scattered tools, he noticed. The man himself was examining the cargo door, tapping a probe against it as he thought. Blake walked up next to him. "Anything?"

"Absolutely nothing." Avon pointed at the near-invisible seams. "There are undisturbed vines growing across the door. Vila definitely never got it open."

"So it's likely that whatever happened had nothing to do with what's inside."

"If anything is." Avon dropped the probe carelessly into Vila's kit and snapped the lid back on. "We're only guessing that this was an arms carrier, after all. For all we know, this could have been a service cruiser taking the officers' dirty laundry back to base."

"And there's nothing active at all aboard?"

"This ship is dead, Blake. It's been dead for years. Possibly decades. We're wasting our time looking here for answers. Especially since they obviously left here as adults."

Blake could have slapped himself for missing that one. This was not proving to be one of his better days. "So they walked into the woods, and something turned them into children. What could do that? And why?"

"'Why' is pointless to speculate about right now. If we find out 'what', it might explain 'why.' I suggest we retrace their steps again. I especially want to look around that pool they ended up at."

"Do you think that might be it? They stumbled into the Fountain of Youth?" Blake almost laughed.

"Hardly. We all got soaked. I haven't gotten any younger, and neither have you."

"Yet."

"Cally and Vila were missing for all of an hour," Avon explained patiently. "We've wasted that much time here. Whatever happened to them happened fast. Moreover, they walked away for no obvious reason. _Walked_ away. They weren't running, therefore they weren't panicked or physically forced."

"You think something took over their minds?"

"Why not? It took over their bodies." Avon walked over to the opening. "Shall we?"

"After you."

 

_It watched, unhappy. It hadn't realized the corporeals had a way to leave the planet so quickly. The other ones hadn't. And they'd taken the children away before they could be stopped. The two who had come back were...unsuitable. Dark, damaged, even vicious. It shuddered to think of what might happen to the children now. It could sense them, so far above, just out of reach. It quavered in fury. Would these things never be satisfied with the damage they caused?_

_It would be so easy to destroy them. So easy to reverse the tide, and reduce them to dust where they stood. And it wanted to._

_But there were the children to think of. The children had to be rescued. Once they were safe, the ship and the corporeals could be destroyed._

_There had to be some way of reaching the ship..._

 

Threats and bribes hadn't worked. Calm reasoning certainly hadn't. What _had_ worked was making a game out of it. Gan started trying things on himself, and waited. Before long Vila and Cally were back, and wanted to try on everything in sight. Rather than insisting on them wearing something sensible, he let them. Eventually, he got Vila into a pair of black pants and a deep maroon shirt. Cally picked a similar outfit in blue, and he led them to the rest room. Vila seemed disappointed that there wasn't anything to climb in there, but was happy to look out the porthole window. Gan rummaged around until he found the stack of board games they'd picked up at some trading post or other.

They weren't interested in the rules, of course. But the game pieces were colorful, and Gan left them lining up armies of chess pieces, token mascots, and various styles of checkers on the floor while he went to get them some food. He was very careful to lock the door behind him.

 

"Boooorrrrrrinnnng." Vila was stacking pieces for Cally to knock down. She was bored too. She took a pointed game piece, and started scratching at the floor.

Vila stood up. "I want to do something else. He tapped at the door.

"Gan ock... _locked_ it." Cally kept scratching.

Vila glared at the lock. Then he looked at Cally. "Want to get out?"

"Maybe." Cally started rolling the piece around. Vila suddenly had an image of pencils and styluses in his head. He grinned.

"I think I know where to get them." Cally looked up hopefully. "Want to give me a boost?"

The door was of course wide open when Gan got back. He put the tray he was carrying down carefully, and counted slowly. Then he turned and ran for the flight deck.

 

Jenna had never seen Gan quite so panicked before. Even after Zen assured him that Cally and Vila were in the storerooms, and nowhere near the more dangerous parts of the ship, he kept fretting. It was rather endearing, in a way.

Less endearing was the cause. They should have realized that, child or not, there was no keeping Vila locked up anywhere. Or out of anything, for that matter. Something went bouncing away from her boot, and clinked off the wall. A diamond. She looked more closely at the floor. A trail of gems, bars, and other valuable oddments were scattered about.

Gan groaned. "They must have gotten into the vault. Avon's going to have a fit."

"He's not the only one." Jenna decided to leave it for now. It wasn't as though any other thieves would be wandering through the corridors, after all. "Let's just find them and get them under control."

"Vila! Cally! Come out here now!" Gan's bellow went unanswered. He sighed.

Jenna found the nearest intercom. "Zen, where are Vila and Cally now?"

+VILA AND CALLY ARE IN THE TELEPORT SECTION.+

Jenna and Gan looked at each other. And then they started running.

 

The teleport section was a mess. Vila and Cally had found a large cape, and filled it with various currencies, half of which were now scattered loosely all over the floor around Vila. The other half had been artistically glued to walls, steps, the teleport console, and even the couches. Vila was busy gluing more of them to the floor in a spiral pattern.

Cally was in the back of the teleport section with an assortment of crayons and paint sticks, drawing on the floor. Many of the walls were already daubed. Jenna noted she'd connected up Vila's work with a sprawling mosaic of vines and leaves.

"VILA!!!" Gan bellowed behind her. Jenna winced. Both Vila and Cally looked up guiltily. Vila automatically tried to hide the glue behind his back.

"Both of you. Pick this all up. NOW!" Jenna ordered. To her relief, they obeyed without arguing. Though in the end, it took all four of them to sweep everything loose back into the cape. Jenna made a half-hearted attempt to removed the glued jewels from the walls, but quickly gave up. It was likely to take them a few days' work to pry them all off. The same went for Cally's pictures.

She tied the cape closed and swung it over her shoulder. Than done, Gan herded everybody back to the flight deck. Jenna dumped the bag of loot in a corner and went to check the systems. Gan sat both of the children on the forward couch.

"Now sit here and _stay_ here," Gan ordered.

"Why?"

"Because I said so. And because Jenna will get very angry if you misbehave again," Gan added in a fit of inspiration.

Vila and Cally looked at her. Jenna put on her best glare and said, "That's right." Both quickly went back to looking at their hands and sulking.

"I'm hungry," Cally announced, after a moment.

"Me too," Vila added.

Gan sighed. "I'll go get lunch. Stay. Put." Then he went to find the tray he'd left in the rest room.

 

Food could only keep them occupied for so long. Within ten minutes, a shoving match had started. Gan had, of course, taken just that moment to clear away the dishes and was off the flight deck.

Jenna decided to ignore it. They were being quiet enough, apart from a stray giggle that escaped now and then.

And then Vila discovered that Cally was ticklish. With a wide grin, he started tickling in earnest. Jenna was aware that the giggling was getting louder, but the detector screen had chosen just that moment to start bleeping. She didn't have time to do more than snap a "shush!" at them.

Two faint signals. it _could_ just be some random asteroids gliding through, but...

"Ow! Stop kicking!" Vila yelled. Jenna's head snapped up. Both kids were now on the floor. Cally was on her back, and indeed kicking out at an irate Vila, who was trying to punch back.

"Enough!" Jenna yelled, running forward and pulling Vila (who was on his feet) away from Cally. "Stop fighting right now!"

"She started it," whined Vila.

"Did not!"

"I was only tickling, you didn't have to hit me!"

"Did too!" Cally yelled. She lunged forward. Jenna hauled Vila back just in time to avoid a nasty hit to his lower regions.

" _Stop it,_ Cally!"

Gan came running in. "What now?"

"Ask _them_ ," Jenna snapped. She swung Vila into a seat, and then, pointing at another one, glared at Cally. " _Sit_."

Scowling, Cally sat as far away from Vila as possible. Gan sat down between them.

"Now then, what's this all about?"

"She started it!" Vila repeated.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"QUIET!" Shouted Jenna. Still glaring, she stalked back to her station. Whatever had tripped the detectors was gone, she was relieved to note. Sighing, she leaned back in her seat while Gan quietly talked to Cally and Vila. Just to be safe, she ran all of the scans again, extending the range as far as possible. Nothing important registered. One less problem after all.

She looked back up when she realized it was quiet again. Vila and Cally were leaning against Gan, sound asleep. Gan himself was dropping off. Quietly, Jenna ordered Zen to lower the lighting to half, and went about returning Vila's booty to the vault.

 

Just out of the Liberator's detector range, three Federation pursuit ships drifted. Their commander leaned over. "Have they spotted us?"

"Negative, sir. The Liberator is still holding geosynchronous orbit over the planet. No transmissions have been detected."

"Excellent. Maintain position." He grabbed the comm. "Ships two and three, take your flank positions outside of detector range and stand by for orders." He turned back to his own crew. "Prepare the Dart for launch."

"Yes sir."

Space Commander Travis straightened up. He didn't know what was keeping the Liberator in this system, but it was an opportunity. And he wasn't going to waste it.

 

Blake was frustrated. Their search had amounted to absolutely nothing. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary. Nothing had approached them or tried to change them like it had Vila and Cally. There was no technology apart from the crashed ship, no exotic or unknown substances.

Avon quietly walked up besides him. "Anything?" Blake asked.

"Only this." Avon held out a thin silver necklace. "And before you get your hopes up, Cally was wearing it before she left the ship. It obviously fell off at some point."

"Dammit, there has to be _something_! This didn't just happen out of nowhere, something had to have caused it!"

"Obviously," Avon said dryly. "But it's something that we're missing, all the same. Shall we continue walking around in circles, or shall we go back to the ship and try solving it from a different angle?"

Blake sighed. "All right." He raised his arm. "Jenna, teleport."

 

_The gesture. They'd made that gesture when they'd left before! It moved entirely on instinct, reaching out and grabbing at the signal as they vanished. With a jolt, it followed them up and out._

 

Blake stared at the mess in the teleport. Jenna smiled at them sheepishly. "They got loose for a bit."

"So I see. The entire ship isn't like this, is it?"

"No, we caught them before _that_ happened. Gan's watching them now."

Avon was staring at one of the walls. Blake followed his gaze. A glowing hexagon orb was looking down on six stick figures. The largest was holding hands with the two smallest. A man and a woman were next to them, also holding hands. Standing by himself was a black stick figure with a scowl. There was a little thundercloud over his head, with little lightning bolts shooting out everywhere.

Jenna was trying desperately to not laugh out loud. She couldn't keep the grin off her face. "I think it's a fairly good likeness, don't you? She captured Avon _perfectly_."

Avon stalked out of the teleport section. Blake shook his head and followed, not quite keeping the grin off his own face.

 

A small point of light appeared in the teleport section. It was joined by another. Slowly, the cloud reformed. It drifted into the wall and through, leaving nothing unexamined as it searched.

 

The Dart was built along the same lines as an escape pod. With some crucial differences. The one-man craft could be piloted to a certain degree, and tapered to a long, narrow point that constituted a good two-thirds of its length. It had been designed for a single purpose: to penetrate the Liberator's hull and allow its single occupant to board.

Travis checked the air seals on his spacesuit. No matter how much the designers and brass insisted this was a mutiod job, he wasn't going to let anyone else do it. Blake was his. Whatever it took, he was getting on board that ship.

He sealed the Dart's hatch. The comm crackled slightly as it activated. "Ready, Commander?"

"Ready. Launch!"

The Dart dropped into the launch tube. Travis took the controls and smiled grimly. "One way or another, it ends today, Blake," he whispered.

 

Avon had spent most of his watch going through every bit of information he could get from Zen. None of it was helpful to the situation at hand. As far as Zen and the extensive Liberator archives were concerned, what had happened to Cally and Vila was impossible, and therefore could not have happened. Scans told him nothing except that they had two children who were genetically identical to their crewmates. Asking Cally and Vila directly had also proved pointless. They didn't seem to understand the question at all. They obviously remembered some things. They'd known Gan and Zen on sight, after all. But they didn't seem to have any memories of being adults. And they either couldn't, or wouldn't, give any real explanations of why they were at the pool or what had happened there.

Vila had just shrugged and said, “Mother told us to go play.” Cally had nodded, but added nothing. When asked who “Mother” was, Vila had just responded, “She's _Mother._ ”

Cally had added a mental image to this, but all it had conveyed was a sense of peace and happiness. There was no visual, and no explanation. Whatever “Mother” was, it wasn't showing on any scans, and it hadn't approached himself or Blake when they had gone back down.

Exhausted, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Probably the best thing to do was find a safe colony outside of the Federation and leave them with some family. Behavior issues aside, the Liberator and Blake's insane crusade was no environment for children.

Without meaning to, he fell asleep. The detectors bleeped a few times, but when Zen saw nothing more threatening than a stray asteroid passing by, the alarms silenced on their own.

 

Cally and Vila tiptoed onto the flight deck. Gan had been left sound asleep in the rest room. Vila had conscientiously re-locked the door after cracking the security code Avon had placed on it. Finding Avon asleep, they slowly crept closer. They considered him carefully, exchanging glances and nods (and brief flashes of telepathy from Cally.)

After five minutes of this silent conversation, Vila carefully reached out, and started to gently press the raised bumps on Avon's shirt. Nothing happened. Cally frowned, and then tried, pressing a little harder. Avon shifted slightly in his sleep. Taking this as a good sign, Vila tried again, poking much harder.

Avon snapped awake. His eyes blazed when he saw who was poking him in the chest, and he lunged forward. Vila dodged to the side. Cally shrieked and jumped back. Both ran in opposite directions around the forward couch, then darted off the flight deck, Avon in pursuit.

Blake had been coming to relieve Avon on watch, and Vila cannoned into his legs. For a brief moment, he almost kept his balance, but then Cally collided with both him and Vila. Everyone went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

Avon managed to skid to a halt just short of joining them on the floor. For the moment, Blake didn't even try to sit up. He just looked up at the ceiling and with an air of resignment, and asked, "What did you do now?"

"I didn't do it!" Vila instantly said. "It was Cally's idea!"

"Was not," Cally claimed. " _You_ said we should!"

"Only because you said that's what they're for!"

Avon grabbed Vila by the scruff of the neck and pulled him off Blake. "And what, exactly, _did_ you think you were doing?"

Vila stammered. Cally aimed a kick at Avon's shin, which he neatly dodged. Blake sat up and pulled Cally back. "Well?" he asked, giving them his best glare to add to Avon's.

Cally thought a moment. Then said, "Reprogramming."

"What?" Asked both men in unison, then looked at each other.

Cally pointed. "Reprogramming _him_."

This was obviously going to be the limit of Cally's verbal abilities. They turned to Vila, who blurted, "Cally said maybe we could use your buttons to reprogram you to be nicer. That's what buttons are for, right? It was her idea!"

The expression on Avon's face was too much. Blake doubled up as he heroically tried to not laugh. For a moment, he wasn't sure if the pressure of holding it in would kill him, or if Avon was about to murder them all.

For a wonder, the edge of a smirk graced Avon's face. Staring at both of them in turn, he said, "I would advise you to avoid 'pushing my buttons' in future. I am not so easily...programmed."

Blake uttered a strangled wheeze as he choked back more laughter. Avon glanced at him, and then let Vila go. "Go play with Gan," he ordered. "Blake and I have grown-up matters to discuss."

Vila grabbed Cally's hand and pulled her down the corridor at a dead run.

Avon watched them go, then offered a hand up to Blake. "It's no wonder Gan is exhausted," Blake commented. "I don't think there's any keeping up with them."

"Short of sedating them, no."

"I don't suppose your research has turned up any answers."

"No." Avon stared into the distance. "Blake, it's time to leave. We're accomplishing nothing here."

"We can't just leave! Not until we figure out what to do about...!"

"Blake, I have no way to turn them back. And I don't think you want children in your crusade." Avon looked at him levelly. "Start thinking about where we can take them."

 

Ignored by Zen, the asteroid glided a few hundred spacials past the Liberator. At closest approach, the Dart dropped out of its shadow. The engines fired, and it arrowed straight at the larger ship.

At the very last minute, Zen spotted it, and raised the alarms. But nothing could prevent it from ripping through the bulkhead.

 

The Liberator rocked slightly as the Dart penetrated the cargo hold. Alarms blared, but the depressurization protocols failed to kick in. The rear of the dart had deployed perfectly, sealing the breach with no loss of atmospheric pressure.

Travis didn't wait for the computer to clear things. He blew the hatch and hit the ground running.

 

On the flight deck, the lurch and shudder threw Avon and Blake to the deck. Jenna managed to keep upright by clinging to her console. She grabbed the flight controls and worked at steadying the ship while the men picked themselves back up.

“What the hell was that?” Avon asked. “Zen! Damage report!”

+IMPACT IN HOLD AREA. MINOR HULL BREACH IS CURRENTLY CONTAINED. THERE IS NO DANGER TO LIFE SUPPORT OR HULL INTEGRITY.+

Blake moved to the detector readouts. “Are we under attack?”

+NO INFORMATION.+

He looked to Avon. “Could that have been something from the planet?”

Avon gave him a glare that said, “How should I know?”

“It's unlikely,” Jenna said. “That hit was to our port side. The planet is to starboard.”

Avon studied the detectors. “No sign of pursuit ships. It could have been an asteroid strike.”

“It's possible,” Jenna affirmed. “There's a lot of debris just past this orbital path. It's been tripping the detectors on and off.”

+INFORMATION: THERE IS AN INTRUDER ABOARD THE LIBERATOR.+

All three whirled to face Zen. “Where?” Blake and Avon demanded in unison.

+HOLD THREE ACCESS CORRIDOR. THE INTRUDER IS MOVING TOWARDS CREW QUARTERS.+

Blake took off at a run, Avon close behind him. “Warn Gan, tell him to get out of sight!” Blake bellowed as he hurtled up the stairs.

Jenna slammed her hand on the intercom button. “Gan, respond please!”

 

Gan was escorting his charges to the crew quarters, trying to convince them that they needed a nap. Cally was going quietly enough, but Vila was protesting every step of way.

“I don't need a nap. I'm not tired. Only _babies_ need naps! I want to go play chess again!”

“ _I_ need a nap. If I need a nap,  _you_ certainly need one.”

“But I don't! Neither does Cally, right Cally?”

Cally nodded, but her heart obviously wasn't in it. She looked half-asleep already.

“Just come lie down for a few minutes. You'll see how tired you are,” Gan cajoled.

“But I'm  _not._ How about you have a nap, and I'll play quietly?”

Gan sighed. “Vila playing quietly” was identical to “Vila causing mayhem.” He had an endless supply of energy to go with a brain that never stopped thinking of trouble to get into. Gan suspected that Vila would nap for all of five minutes before he was up and running again.

There was a wrenching bang from the side, and the Liberator shook. Vila went tumbling. Gan grabbed at the wall with his free hand, and held Cally close with the other. The girl was wide awake now, her eyes huge and scared.

Vila rolled back up. “That was neat! What was it?”

“Trouble.” Gan grabbed Vila's hand, and pulled both children around. “Change of plans. You can nap on the flight deck instead.”

Cally suddenly stopped, and pulled back on Gan's hand. //Someone coming!// she warned him, her mental voice tinged with alarm.

Gan would be the first to admit that he was not the swiftest thinker. But you didn't survive as a lower grade in the Federation if you didn't have an instinct for danger. Instead of assuming the natural thing, that it was one of the crew coming to check for damage, he reacted. In one motion, he pulled Vila back, and gave both kids a push in the opposite direction.

"Hide. Now." Vila looked confused, but Cally didn't argue. She seized Vila's hand and pulled him down the corridor and around the turn to the living quarters.

The intercom went off, Jenna calling for him. Gan ignored it, and faced forward, bracing himself near the curve. It wasn't ideal. He wouldn't have more than a second to see who was approaching before he was spotted himself.

What he saw was Federation black, and he launched himself forward, bellowing at the top of his voice to throw the intruder off-stride.

And missed.

Gan only had time to register that his quarry had ducked under his arms before the shot tore into his chest.

_Run, please, run..._ and then darkness claimed him.

 

Vila screamed as he saw Gan fall. Before Cally could stop him, he had broken away and flung himself at Travis.

The Space Commander's surprise at seeing a child only lasted a moment. He grabbed Vila with one hand, and struck him with a backhanded blow across the face with the other. Blood flew as his ring cut Vila's cheek. The boy's scream cut off as he staggered back. Travis jerked him closer, and pointed his gun hand down the corridor. "Come out where I can see you, or the boy dies, Blake!"

When there was no response, he dragged the now unprotesting Vila down the corridor. Finding it empty, he turned and continued towards the Flight Deck.

 

Cally had ducked behind the nearest door when Vila was caught. She crouched in a corner, not even daring to breathe. _It was the nightmare man. The man with one evil eye, and he was hurting her and she couldn't move and she didn't want to tell but it hurt so much..._

She could sense Vila and the man moving away. Instinctively, she reached out, trying to find the curly-head man, and tell him what had happened. But she didn't know if he could hear her. The bad dream she had forgotten all about was echoing in her mind, drowning things out.

As soon as she dared, she crept back out into the hall. The nightmare man and Vila were gone. Gan was lying down in the middle of the corridor, and she crawled over to him. There was a terrible black hole on his chest. Trembling, she patted his face, trying to wake him up.

Gan didn't move. Cally started to cry.

 

_No. No, this cannot be. I cannot lose my children again!_

It was torn by terror and indecision. If it acted now, one of them could be saved. But there wouldn't be enough power to return them both home.

 

The cloud of sparkles descended around Cally, trying to soothe her. She ignored it as she kept patting Gan's face.

//Come with me, my little one. We must go home.//

//No! There's a bad man! He hurt Gan and Vila!//

//I will bring back your brother, but you must go back home now. I need you to be safe.//

//I won't!//

//Child, please, listen to your mother, I must protect you...//

//Wake up Gan! He protects us!//

//He stole you away from your mother! He put you in danger! You must leave now!//

"I won't go home until Gan wakes up!" Cally yelled.

_What do I do?_ This was terrible. The children were traumatized, and it couldn't save them both _and_ return to the planet. If the daughter was forced, the son would die. Saving the son would force it to leave its daughter behind. It might not be able to return before they took her too far away to reach...

//Gan protects us. He can save Vila! Wake him up, please?//

It was true that he had not harmed them. He had tried to put them out of danger. He had been gentle, a lovely child himself if there was more time and energy to bring him to the Springtide...

It was acting before it realized the decision had been made. Cally watched as the sparkles flowed into Gan's damaged body. There was so much wrong, so much that had to be repaired...

With a tremendous effort, it reached across the divide, calling to the Springtide so far away. And it responded, flowing across the distance.

Gan's eyes opened, shining with the light that had entered his body. They focused on the small face in front of him. "Cally?"

Cally smiled. "Mother fixed you." Then suddenly, she hopped to her feet. "I have to go help Vila."

//NO!!!//

Both Gan and Mother, united for the moment, reached out to stop Cally, but she was too quick. The girl was down the hall and away before they could stop her.

The entity screamed, causing Gan to clutch his head in sudden agony. His head rang with the alien voice.

//NO! Not again I can't lose them all again no no no no NO!!!//

Alien intent moved Gan's feet. He stumbled forward, then went off-balance and reeled into a wall. It screamed again in terror and frustration.

Slowly, Gan straightened. He didn't know what this thing was, and he certainly didn't trust it. But he understood the fear. And they agreed on one vital thing: the children had to be protected.

"Tell me where they are," he said quietly, and felt the voice listening. "I'll take us there."

And Gan was suddenly in control of his body again. He flexed his hands once, and then took off running, trusting "Mother" to point the way.

 

Travis only had a rough idea of the Liberator's layout. He was relying on his instincts to steer him to the others. The boy was unexpected, but useful. Blake was sentimental; he wasn't likely to do anything that would get a child injured. That gave the commander some much-needed leverage.

There was a click, and then a security door slid across the end of the corridor. Cursing, Travis wheeled around in time to see the way behind him seal off as well.

There was one door in this passageway. He hauled it open, revealing a storeroom. He dragged the boy in with him. Blake obviously knew where he was, and would be coming.

_Just let me see him first,_ Travis prayed.  _All I need is to get the drop on him. Once he's dead, the rest won't matter._

 

Blake and Avon were brought up short by the security barrier. They exchanged glares, and then turned as Jenna came running up behind them.

“Gan's not responding. I had Zen seal off the intruder.” She handed Blake a gun. “Zen says there's someone else with him, now.”

_“Damn.”_ Blake snatched the gun, mildly embarrassed that he'd forgotten it in his rush.

Avon pulled his own gun, and pressed the intercom. “Zen, release this door on my mark.” He glanced at Blake, who nodded.

“Go!”

 

Cally had ducked down when she saw Travis turn. She could hear the door behind her, and cringed. The nightmare man would see her, and she couldn't run away!

Vila saw her, she could tell. But the nightmare man  _didn't_ . He turned away. And Vila didn't give her away.

As soon as the door opened, she scuttled after them. The room was very dark, and she was terrified. But she was also very angry. She ducked to the left, and hid behind some boxes. The nightmare man still hadn't seen her; he was too busy yelling at Vila. He grabbed the boy by the throat and then pointed at the door.

_In the nightmare, the one-eyed man raised his hand. A yellow stone glinted. It was pointed at her friend, and she suddenly knew it was a weapon, and she screamed..._

Cally put her hand to her mouth and bit down. She wouldn't scream. She wouldn't cry. She had to help Vila. Somehow. She began to edge quietly towards the shelves.

 

The door slid aside just in time for Blake to see Cally dart into the storeroom. Without stopping to think, he charged forward and through. He could hear Avon shouting behind him, warning him to stop. He slapped the light control as he passed through, gun snapping up as he came face to face with Space Commander Travis.

Travis was already aiming. He fired, just as Vila tried to yank himself away, pulling the commander off-balance. Blake could feel the hair on the side of his head burn away. He threw himself to the side. Travis pulled Vila in front of him, and sneered.

“Well, Blake? Are you willing to shoot through a child?”

There was a clatter as Avon and Jenna ran in. Travis didn't waiver; he kept his aim on Blake. There was no sign of Cally. Blake hoped that meant she was hiding.

"Against the wall, Blake. And your friends as well." Carefully, Blake obeyed. After a long moment, Avon and Jenna did the same. “Now lose the guns.” With varying degrees of reluctance, they did so. Travis' gun never left its mark. His eyes flicked over his prisoners. "I've dealt with Gan. Where are Restal and the Auron?"

Blake blinked in surprise. Of course; he didn't know. His mind raced through options, but Avon beat him to it.

"They're down on the planet, scouting out the crash," the tech lied smoothly.

"We were just about to contact them," Jenna added.

"You take me for a fool?" Travis sneered. "I scanned the planet before I got here. There's no human life down there." He quickly moved his gun hand to Vila's head. "Call them out here, or the boy dies."

There was little choice except to pretend to cooperate and stall for time. Blake walked towards the nearest comm unit. Travis' hand moved again, away from Vila's head, back towards Blake.

And the moment Vila's head was out of range, Cally dropped from the shelving above, landing squarely on Travis's shoulders. He was knocked forward, and Vila yanked his arm away. Avon and Jenna dove to either side, seeking cover. Blake spun and moved towards Travis.

Unfortunately, Travis hadn't lost his footing. Cally was flung backwards into the racks, scattering its contents everywhere. His hand shot out, snagging Vila again. His gun hand snapped back up to Blake.

Vila's hand shot out and caught what looked like a spanner as it fell from the rack. It was long and very heavy, and he swung it at arm height directly into Travis. And unfortunately for the Space Commander, Vila's arm was a good deal lower than usual.

Even Jenna winced as Travis folded up. Vila dropped the spanner and scuttled away. Blake snatched it up. To his relief, Cally was sitting up, shaking her head. Avon was there a moment later, grabbing Travis' mechanical arm and twisting it behind him.

"Jenna," Blake called, stopping her in mid-stride towards Cally. "Go check on Gan, then get to the flight deck. We may have pursuit ships on their way."

"Right." Jenna headed for the hatch, and Blake went to check on the children.

Travis acted. Avon found himself flung into a stack of crates as the Space Commander twisted and punched out. As soon as Avon's hand left his arm, he swung it back around to his target.

"Blake!"

Jenna's shout prompted him to react on instinct. Blake threw himself at Vila, rolling them both painfully out of the line of fire. He felt the heat of the beam as it grazed the side of his head before blowing the struts off one of the shelves. Cally shrieked and crawled backwards, backing up into the shelves and dislodging more of them.

Travis aimed again Time seemed to slow down. Avon had almost reached his gun. Jenna had hers, but Blake and Vila were now in the way. Neither of them would be able to fire in time. Blake tried to shield Vila and waited for the shot.

Colored light exploded into the room, the brightest burst of it right in Travis' eyes. Blinded painfully, he still hesitated only a second.

It was a second too long. One enormous hand landed on his shoulder. The other grabbed his artificial hand and crushed it to pieces.

Travis howled as the feedback hit his nerves. And then he was flying bodily across the room. He hit the far wall with a tremendous crack, and then knew no more.

Blake tried to blink the spots out of his eyes. Gan was standing where Travis had just been, and was glowing. Jenna was lowering her gun uncertainly, looking from Gan to Blake and back again. Avon, being a bit more decisive, went over to Travis. He never took his eyes off Gan, though, and kept as far away as possible.

“Gan?” Blake asked. “Are you... all right?” _Are you yourself_ was probably the more accurate question, he thought.

“Mother!” Vila was sitting up now, and grinning from ear to ear.

Cally crawled up next to him. “She fixed Gan,” she explained. Vila nodded sagely. Blake was feeling out of his depth again.

The light began drifting upwards. Gan sagged as it left him. Jenna quickly holstered her gun and grabbed an arm to steady the man. Avon, one foot on Travis' chest, pulled his own gun and tracked the sparkling cloud as it wafted across the room towards Blake, Cally, and Vila. Both children jumped to their feet. Blake rose more slowly, his hand hovering briefly over where his empty gun holster before dropping again.

//It's time to go home, children.//

“Aw, do we have to?” Vila whined. “I like it here!”

//It is not safe. You must come home now.//

“They aren't going anywhere.” Blake stepped in front of the children, motioning them back. “Vila and Cally are members of my crew, and I won't stand by while they're kidnapped.”

There was a mental scream, and Blake suddenly found himself flung across the room and into the same wall Travis had hit. There was the whine and crack of a gun discharging nearby; Avon trying to shoot the...whatever it was. Blake pushed himself up, shaking his head to clear it. He could hear Gan and Jenna shouting.

//YOU WILL RETURN MY CHILDREN TO THE PLANET, OR I WILL DESTROY THIS VESSEL!//

Jenna and Gan pulled Blake to his feet. He put a hand over his bruised ribs, and moved back towards the cloud. “They are  _not_ your children. You had no right to do this to them, and you have no right to take them away.”

“Blake!” Avon warned. He fired again. Like before, the cloud rippled but there was no sign that it was harmed in the slightest. He thought frantically, looking for any clue that might tell him what to do against this thing.

The energy lashed out again, this time striking all four adults and slamming them painfully to the deck. Vila and Cally screamed.

//I WILL NOT WARN YOU AGAIN! DO AS I SAY, OR...!//

**//ENOUGH//**

The burning pressure holding them down suddenly vanished. Blake looked up, and saw that the cloud was now surrounded by a ring of shifting, twinkling lights very similar to it. Slowly, it was pulled away from the humans.

A second cloud then detached from the ring, and drifted around the room, glowing a soft blue. It seemed to examine each person in turn, before stopping in front of Blake.

//We apologize for our one. The behavior is unacceptable. Are you harmed?//

Blake quickly looked around. Everyone but Travis was sitting up. Vila and Cally were now clinging to Gan as though their lives depended on it. Both of their faces were streaked with tears, and Gan was doing his best to soothe them.

“I think we'll be all right. Thank you.”

//There is one not moving...//

“That's a good thing,” Avon snarled. “He's not worth worrying about.”

“He means us harm,” Blake explained. “It's safer for everyone if he remains where he is.”

//We understand. We will not interfere with this. But we must understand what has happened here between our one and yourselves. We do not understand why our one has come here to you, or why it stole the tides to harm you. Do you mean harm to us?//

“We didn't even know you existed,” Jenna said. “You didn't show up on any scan.”

“We mean you no harm,” Blake said. “We only came to examine the ship, and see if there was anything worth reclaiming from it. And then two of my crew were regressed to childhood,” he gestured towards Cally and Vila, “presumably by your 'one.' When it arrived, it claimed them as its own children, and threatened to destroy us if we didn't return them.”

The cloud pulsed, turning deeper in hue. It's voice was tinged with sorrow. //Our children...oh my poor one, what have you done?//

//They are my children! The corporeals killed ours, and they do not even properly care for their own! These two were better, like my own, and I saved them from misery! They are mine and I am theirs, and we cannot be parted!//

//You have done immense harm. You cannot meddle so with the corporeals without damaging them. You should not have used the Springtide so. These are not your children, and you have no right to steal them away.//

//I had every right! The corporeals are vicious, uncaring beasts, and they stole our children from us! This is only repaying their wrongs against us! You cannot take my children away from me again!//

The glow increased, holding the angry being in check. It flicked and pulsed, and Blake realized it was doing something very similar to crying.

The blue cloud turned even darker. //We must repair the harm you have caused. And we...must help you. We have failed you, and we are sorry for that. And for the grief we must now cause.//

The light flooded the hold. The anger and the crying faded away. And then the light was gone. Arms that had been raised to shield eyes were slowly lowered as the crew looked at each other, everyone at a loss for words. Only the single cloud remained now, still hovering near Blake.

//We are sorry for the harm caused to you. Our one acted in grief, not malice.//

“And that makes all the difference,” Avon said sarcastically.

Blake shot him a glare. Gan was nodding. “Grief for her children. I understand. I think I would have felt the same way.”

//Yes. There was an accident. The corporeal ship fell from the sky, and crashed into the..nursery would be your most correct word.//

“And her children were killed.”

//All of our children. When young, we must cling to the corporeal to exist. The nursery flows with the Springtide, that energy which grows children. When the children are grown, they can depart and exist on their own. The ship destroyed the corporeal, and our children were not strong enough to survive without it. We could not save any of them.//

“That must have been terrible,” Jenna said quietly.

//Yes. We still grieve. Some wished to blame the corporeals, but we could not. The act was not meant. They died as well. Our one...would not leave the nursery. The grief was too great. We allowed it to remain, thinking there would be healing in time. We now understand we were wrong.//

“Your one used this Springtide to turn Cally and Vila back into children, and tamper with their minds,” Blake said. “Can you reverse it? Restore them to who they were before?”

//If that is your wish, we will do all we can. However, the tides were never meant for your kind. We can repair damage, but there will be...pain. We do not wish to cause this, but we cannot tamper with your kind without it.//

Blake looked at the children. They were still clinging to Gan, looking scared and confused. They probably didn't understand any of this; how could they? He could barely wrap his own mind around the situation.

He looked back at the cloud. “I understand. Please, restore them.”

“Blake, no!” Gan objected. “They're just kids, if it'll harm them, we should just leave it alone.”

“They can't stay that way,” Avon said. “The harm's already been done. They aren't actually children, and you know it. We can't keep them with us like this, and if we leave them somewhere, we can't protect them when the Federation comes looking for them.”

“Shouldn't it be their decision?” Jenna asked. She looked at the cloud. “Can you restore their memories, so they can tell us which they prefer?”

//Once it begins, it must continue. To stop it before the end will cause much more harm. It could even end their corporeal state.//

“That's a 'no,' then.” Blake nodded. “I'll make the decision.”

“And take the blame?” Avon asked, a small smile on his face.

“As you say.”

Gan looked thunderous. Blake could see his hands tightening, holding the children closer.  _ I should have seen this coming, _ he thought. Gan was just as attached to them as children as the entity responsible for it had been. And just as protective.  _ Please don't force me to fight you over this... _

Vila suddenly reached up and tugged at Gan's sleeve. “I want to stay here.”

Gan dropped back to his knees, looking him in the eyes. “Do you understand what we're deciding, Vila?”

“No. Not really. But I want to stay here with you. Not go away.”

Gan shifted his gaze. “Cally?”

“Want to stay here,” she echoed.

“We'll do whatever,” Vila pleaded. “Just don't send us away.”

“You won't be kids anymore,” Gan explained. “You'll be adults, like us. It'll hurt, and it won't be much fun. Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Vila said instantly. Cally nodded frantically. Gan sighed, and hugged them both. “All right. If it's what  _ you _ want.”

Avon put his hand on Gan's shoulder. In a surprisingly gentle tone, he said, “Before we begin, we should sedate them. So they won't feel as much pain.”

Blake nodded. “Jenna, would you go set up the surgical unit?”

“Right.” She looked at Gan with a mixture of sadness and determination, and hurried out.

“If you'll bear with us a little longer?” Blake asked the cloud.

//We will act as you say.//

“Gan, stay with them,” Blake said unnecessarily. The big man obviously would let the ship explode before he would leave the children alone again. “Avon, I'll need your help to send Travis back where he came from.”

“We  _ should _ just kill him.”

“You're probably right,” Blake conceded. “However, I suspect our hosts would disapprove.”

Avon obviously didn't give a damn about that, but he didn't argue the point. He just stooped and grabbed Travis' feet.

 

The reversal took much longer than the regression had. “They” were acting cautiously, trying to minimize the damage to Cally and Vila's bodies and minds. They could not, however, reduce the suffering. Even tranquilized, they moaned and whimpered, twitching from aching bones and bad dreams. Blake and Avon wanted to restrain them, to keep them from falling off their beds and injuring themselves further. Gan flatly refused, and Jenna backed him. The big man stayed in the surgical unit the entire time, wiping the sweat away from their eyes and redosing them at regular intervals. He didn't tire, or get visibly upset, and ignored every suggestion that he should rest for awhile. Even when Cally started to randomly project, he stayed calm, whispering that everything would be all right.

Blake was feeling distinctly guilty about the whole thing, and completely unwelcome. He checked in as often as he thought he could get away with. Avon and Jenna faced less ire, so he let them keep an eye on Gan, and retreated to the flight deck.

Travis had been loaded into a reprogrammed life capsule, and launched out of the system. Once he cleared the next two planetary orbits, the distress beacon would, provided Avon wasn't lying about his own work, start transmitting to his flotilla. Blake kept watch for any pursuit ships that might come searching for the Space Commander. The Liberator would have to leave as soon as possible, if they wanted to avoid a fight.

A cloud of blue sparkles in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to face the cloud.

//It is done.//

“How are they?”

//They rest. There is much anger and grief. We are sorry.//

“Thank you. We will be leaving, then.”

//That is for the best. There must be healing for you, and for us.//

Blake nodded. “Will your 'one' be all right?”

//We do not know. We must try. We cannot have a future of such anguish.//

“Please convey our own apologies.”

The cloud brightened slightly. //Thank you.// Then it was gone. With a sigh, Blake turned back to the screens.

“Zen, take us out of the system on assigned course. Speed standard by six.”

+CONFIRMED.+

 

There wasn't much talk on the Liberator for a few days. Vila and Cally spent most of the time resting. The rapid regrowth meant stiffness and clumsy movements as they got used to their adult bodies again. And the emotional fallout was even harder.

Vila had gotten massively drunk. For once, nobody scolded him for it. Cally was even quieter than usual, and everyone had seen Vila pass her the bottle a few times. Nobody commented on this either.

Jenna was therefore surprised when she walked into the teleport section to see Cally sitting on the floor, scrubbing up her artwork.

The pilot paused for a moment. And then dropped down next to her. “Seems a shame. It made this room much more colorful.”

Cally gave her a small smile. “I do not think Blake would like to keep it this way.”

“Probably not.” Jenna picked up a rag. “Ah well. Gan has pictures.”

Cally looked startled. “He does?”

Jenna grinned at her discomfort. “He does. I asked for copies. Especially of the 'family portrait.'” Jenna was amused to see the Auron blush.

“Do you think Avon will ever forgive me for that?”

“Oh, I think he'll get over it.” Jenna started scrubbing with a will. Smiling, Cally joined her.

 

Gan cleared away the bottles, and pulled a blanket over Vila, who was out cold. And why not? He'd had a very tiring few days. It was amazing how much more energy his child-self had had. And how much braver he had been.

_Maybe that's growing up in the Federation,_ he thought sadly. _It takes away who you could have been, to make you who they want you to be._

Vila was never going to talk about that part, he knew. And he wouldn't ask. But he was more determined than ever. There had to be a better future for children to live in.

 

Avon was in his room, sorting through printouts. At some point the little monsters had gotten hold of them. There were paper airplanes, and animals, and most of the rest had pictures scrawled all over them. It would have probably been faster to simply dispose of the lot and have Zen make new ones, but he had to make sure he didn't lose any of his personal notes.

He held one drawing up. The dark-clad man was shaking his finger, obviously yelling at the rest of the crew, who were drawn much smaller. Thunderclouds shot lightning bolts around his head as he told everyone what to do.

A smile graced Avon's face. Carefully, he filed the drawing away where nobody could see it, but where he could find it again. And then he went back to sorting.

 

 

 

 


End file.
